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(Jalopnik)   Seatbelts save lives. Except when they catch on fire   (jalopnik.com) divider line
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    More: Scary, Seat belt, Airbag, Super Duty trucks, similar recall, Super Duty vehicles, Kentucky Truck Plant, General Motors, seat-belt systems  
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2658 clicks; posted to Main » on 14 Dec 2019 at 12:06 AM (4 years ago)   |   Favorite    |   share:  Copy Link



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RaceDTruck [TotalFark] [OhFark]  
Smartest (1)   Funniest (0)  
2019-12-13 8:00:59 PM  
Interior components are required to be self-extinguishing.
 
bingethinker [TotalFark] [OhFark]  
Smartest (0)   Funniest (5)  
2019-12-13 8:41:06 PM  
Yep, people are so fat that the pretensioner bursts into flame trying to stop their lard asses from flying through the windshield.
 
jaytkay [OhFark]  
Smartest (7)   Funniest (0)  
2019-12-14 12:15:53 AM  
Pretensioner? Hearing the word makes me think of a spring.

Nope, googling finds it's pretty high tech. I had no idea.

"The pretensioner mechanism uses an explosive charge to drive a concealed piston when sensors detect the signature abrupt deceleration of an accident. The piston, in turn, rapidly drives the spool around which the fabric strap of a seatbelt is wrapped. That incredibly fast retraction of the belt fabric removes the slack from the belt instantly. This extra seatbelt "pre-" tension, moments prior to the full force of impact, pulls the bodies of the driver and front-seat passenger firmly into their seats. This positions them so as to receive the maximum protection benefit of the front airbags."
 
Phony_Soldier  
Smartest (0)   Funniest (0)  
2019-12-14 12:24:24 AM  

bingethinker: Yep, people are so fat that the pretensioner bursts into flame trying to stop their lard asses from flying through the windshield.


Can't they get to a point where they are too heave to fly?
 
Phony_Soldier  
Smartest (0)   Funniest (0)  
2019-12-14 12:25:47 AM  

Phony_Soldier: bingethinker: Yep, people are so fat that the pretensioner bursts into flame trying to stop their lard asses from flying through the windshield.

Can't they get to a point where they are too heave to fly?


Heavy
 
Tourney3p0  
Smartest (3)   Funniest (1)  
2019-12-14 12:38:02 AM  
There was an article last week about how Ford knew their transmissions were garbage for 6 years and kept pumping them out.  Workers were pleading with family members to get rid of the vehicles.   People were going to the authorities to beg for oversight.  Yet the same transmission kept being released every year.

At this point if you still buy a Ford, you deserve what you get.  Not only do you deserve it, but you're complicit.
 
I hereby demand that I be given a Fark account [TotalFark] [OhFark]  
Smartest (1)   Funniest (1)  
2019-12-14 12:40:34 AM  
I'm looking forward to the idiots who won't wear their seatbelts because of this.

Mainly because someone else will be hosing their remains out of what's left of their car.
 
MBooda  
Smartest (0)   Funniest (0)  
2019-12-14 1:04:03 AM  
Nice seatbelts you got here. Be a shame if someone were to set fire to them.
Fark user imageView Full Size

/they're a choking hazard, too. Technically everything in the world is a choking hazard, as long as some wild kid can break it into pieces smaller than his mouth but bigger than his throat. And it's only a matter of time before some lawyer finds a wacky doctor who says seatbelts cause mesothelioma or skin cancer or crohn's.
 
MBooda  
Smartest (0)   Funniest (0)  
2019-12-14 1:08:15 AM  

jaytkay: Pretensioner? Hearing the word makes me think of a spring.



Like Premonstratensians, but less monstrous.
 
Resident Muslim [TotalFark] [OhFark]  
Smartest (0)   Funniest (3)  
2019-12-14 1:14:05 AM  

Phony_Soldier: Phony_Soldier: bingethinker: Yep, people are so fat that the pretensioner bursts into flame trying to stop their lard asses from flying through the windshield.

Can't they get to a point where they are too heave to fly?

Heavy


*heave*
 
Enigmamf [TotalFark] [OhFark]  
Smartest (1)   Funniest (0)  
2019-12-14 1:25:27 AM  

Tourney3p0: There was an article last week about how Ford knew their transmissions were garbage for 6 years and kept pumping them out.  Workers were pleading with family members to get rid of the vehicles.   People were going to the authorities to beg for oversight.  Yet the same transmission kept being released every year.

At this point if you still buy a Ford, you deserve what you get.  Not only do you deserve it, but you're complicit.


Probably talking about the Focus' dual-clutch auto, which was supposed to be a wet clutch but where they cheaper out and used a dry clutch. That's the reason I didn't get one - I knew too much from following a forum where lots of insiders jabber.
 
Throbelisk  
Smartest (0)   Funniest (2)  
2019-12-14 1:27:03 AM  
This is why Ford stands for "Fix It Again, Tony."
 
Gordon Bennett [OhFark]  
Smartest (1)   Funniest (4)  
2019-12-14 4:40:05 AM  
How does a seatbelt catch on fire?

Fark user imageView Full Size
 
iodized attic salt  
Smartest (0)   Funniest (1)  
2019-12-14 5:32:53 AM  
Fark user imageView Full Size
 
NutWrench [TotalFark]  
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2019-12-14 6:36:16 AM  
That wording is similar to the GM recall. Ford said above that its pretensioner-the mechanism that tightens seat belts to keep you from hurtling forward-can generate excessive sparks when deploying during a crash, while GM said its pretensioner bracket has a small opening to allow gases to come into contact with the carpet. That can lead to a potential fire inside the truck.

Only if you're this guy and you fill the passenger cabin with fuel before the crash even happens:
Fark user imageView Full Size
 
Hachitori  
Smartest (0)   Funniest (0)  
2019-12-14 8:46:10 AM  

jaytkay: Pretensioner? Hearing the word makes me think of a spring.

Nope, googling finds it's pretty high tech. I had no idea.

"The pretensioner mechanism uses an explosive charge to drive a concealed piston when sensors detect the signature abrupt deceleration of an accident. The piston, in turn, rapidly drives the spool around which the fabric strap of a seatbelt is wrapped. That incredibly fast retraction of the belt fabric removes the slack from the belt instantly. This extra seatbelt "pre-" tension, moments prior to the full force of impact, pulls the bodies of the driver and front-seat passenger firmly into their seats. This positions them so as to receive the maximum protection benefit of the front airbags."

<strong>"The pretensioner mechanism uses an explosive charge"</strong>

Great. First Airbags and now this.

Somehow using explosives to save my life just seems.... odd.
 
MythDragon  
Smartest (3)   Funniest (0)  
2019-12-14 9:40:18 AM  

I hereby demand that I be given a Fark account: I'm looking forward to the idiots who won't wear their seatbelts because of this.

Mainly because someone else will be hosing their remains out of what's left of their car.


I've talked to a person who never wore seatbelt because he "rather be thrown clear of the wreck where its safer." And of course he knows the one story of the guy who would have lived if he *hadn't* been wearing a seatbelt. The fact that 99.999% of the time seats belts save you instead of kill you doesnt matter. One guy died from a seat belt because he got stuck and couldn't get out of a burning car or something so that makes them dangerous.
 
MythDragon  
Smartest (0)   Funniest (3)  
2019-12-14 9:42:14 AM  
Ford brand breakfast cereal
media1.tenor.comView Full Size
 
khatores  
Smartest (0)   Funniest (0)  
2019-12-14 10:19:33 AM  

MythDragon: I hereby demand that I be given a Fark account: I'm looking forward to the idiots who won't wear their seatbelts because of this.

Mainly because someone else will be hosing their remains out of what's left of their car.

I've talked to a person who never wore seatbelt because he "rather be thrown clear of the wreck where its safer." And of course he knows the one story of the guy who would have lived if he *hadn't* been wearing a seatbelt. The fact that 99.999% of the time seats belts save you instead of kill you doesnt matter. One guy died from a seat belt because he got stuck and couldn't get out of a burning car or something so that makes them dangerous.


Some types of older seatbelts had trouble releasing if they had been in an accident. Still, they saved more lives than not. Modern seatbelts are far more reliable and generally have no difficulty.

Modern vehicles have lots of recalls because they're extremely complex. Expectations for emissions, reliability, safety, comfort, technology and driveability are constantly increasing and people want to keep costs down. Meanwhile automakers have to make money in the long run and keep their dealers and shareholders happy.

If I thought I could do a better job, I'd start my own car company.
 
Greek [OhFark]  
Smartest (0)   Funniest (1)  
2019-12-14 10:46:23 AM  

Hachitori: jaytkay: Pretensioner? Hearing the word makes me think of a spring.

Nope, googling finds it's pretty high tech. I had no idea.

"The pretensioner mechanism uses an explosive charge to drive a concealed piston when sensors detect the signature abrupt deceleration of an accident. The piston, in turn, rapidly drives the spool around which the fabric strap of a seatbelt is wrapped. That incredibly fast retraction of the belt fabric removes the slack from the belt instantly. This extra seatbelt "pre-" tension, moments prior to the full force of impact, pulls the bodies of the driver and front-seat passenger firmly into their seats. This positions them so as to receive the maximum protection benefit of the front airbags."

<strong>"The pretensioner mechanism uses an explosive charge"</strong>

Great. First Airbags and now this.

Somehow using explosives to save my life just seems.... odd.


Pretensioners have been in use for over 30 years. Typically, they have a vent hole at the end of the cylinder that allows the spent gases to escape, which is supposed to be pointed in a direction that will allow them to cool before hitting anything flammable. We're talking a couple inches- an expanding gas cools really quickly. I'm guessing that some supplier left an un-sealed joint somewhere that's allowing gases to escape from a different place.

Let's add to the strangeness: these pretensioners are technically called "pyrotechnic seat belt tensioners." They're essentially a captive bolt pistol with a steel cable attached to the bolt/piston at one end and the seat belt reel at the other. A gunpowder charge fires the piston down a tube, which has a catch at the end that stops the piston from being retracted. You're literally being protected with a crude, one time use, gun. And it actually works really well. The fact that 2 different automakers have recalled theirs for the same reason in short order suggests that there's a supplier issue. But since the problem can be rectified by treating what is probably an unintentional vent path as if it's an intended one, it's not necessary to replace the units themselves.
 
MBooda  
Smartest (0)   Funniest (4)  
2019-12-14 12:02:00 PM  
🎵Oh yes, I'm the great pretensioner🎵
Fark user imageView Full Size
 
treesloth [TotalFark]  
Smartest (1)   Funniest (0)  
2019-12-14 12:02:06 PM  

MythDragon: I've talked to a person who never wore seatbelt because he "rather be thrown clear of the wreck where its safer." And of course he knows the one story of the guy who would have lived if he *hadn't* been wearing a seatbelt. The fact that 99.999% of the time seats belts save you instead of kill you doesnt matter. One guy died from a seat belt because he got stuck and couldn't get out of a burning car or something so that makes them dangerous.


I went to school with a girl that said that.  But I decided not to explain the miscarriage of logic she was engaged in since the person that burned to death was her mother.
 
MBooda  
Smartest (0)   Funniest (0)  
2019-12-14 12:06:41 PM  

treesloth: MythDragon: I've talked to a person who never wore seatbelt because he "rather be thrown clear of the wreck where its safer." And of course he knows the one story of the guy who would have lived if he *hadn't* been wearing a seatbelt. The fact that 99.999% of the time seats belts save you instead of kill you doesnt matter. One guy died from a seat belt because he got stuck and couldn't get out of a burning car or something so that makes them dangerous.

I went to school with a girl that said that.  But I decided not to explain the miscarriage of logic she was engaged in since the person that burned to death was her mother.


A little late for a miscarriage, but if it was the girl who was pregnant, it's better than a falcon punch.
 
byteme4321  
Smartest (0)   Funniest (0)  
2019-12-14 12:49:00 PM  
It's funny to me that this is just now being announced. A friend of mine who works @ a ford dealership has been dealing with this recall for almost a year already.
Trim carpet fibres, and put metal tape on all the things in there that catch fire when the pretensioner goes off.
Why not use non flamable carpets instead? Because it's cheaper this way. Only costs them an hour or two of labor to fix it.
 
dittybopper  
Smartest (0)   Funniest (1)  
2019-12-14 1:05:45 PM  
"Flaming Death Belt" is the name of my flaming death belt.
 
doomsdayaddams [recently expired TotalFark]  
Smartest (1)   Funniest (0)  
2019-12-14 1:22:27 PM  
As several people have said, please don't take this as a reason not to wear a seatbelt. I had a serious wreck at 17, before seatbelt laws and in a car that didn't have them. Now, in my 50s. I am dealing with severe arthritis in all the places that went through various parts of the car. I'm lucky to be alive, but I sure wish I'd been wearing one that day.
 
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